Radical Bloomsbury Q&A on Twitter

On 8 September 2011, we hosted a Question and Answer session for our Twitter users. This was a chance for people to learn more about Radical Bloomsbury, our exhibition at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, and the lives of the featured artists, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Darren Clarke, assistant curator of the exhibition and an expert on Bell and Grant, kindly agreed to answer questions from the public. Here is a transcript of that session:

@BrightonMuseums: Darren Clarke assistant curator has just joined us for our Q&A session on Radical Bloomsbury. (3:05pm)

@BrightonMuseums: Here’s 1 #RadBlooms Q: Were there any paintings you would like to have used but couldn’t? (3:09pm)

@BrightonMuseums: There were designs by Duncan Grant in the National Library in Paris we couldn’t afford the transport for. #RadBlooms (3:11pm)

@BrightonMuseums: As a curator when you first see the exhibition you see the gaps but as a visitor hopefully you don’t notice #RadBlooms (3:13pm)

@BrightonMuseums: is there anything from the Brighton Museum collections in the exhibition? #RadBlooms (3:20pm)

@BrightonMuseums: no the cut off date for the exhibition era is 1925. Brighton has later paintings… #RadBlooms (3:23pm)

@BrightonMuseums: we did put the 1929 painting by Bell of her mother outside the gallery #RadBlooms (3:24pm)

@fauxtoegrafik: #RadBlooms Did Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant ever use photography as an art form? (3:25pm)

@BrightonMuseums: there is a photo by them in the exhibition of their daughter Angelica from a session taken for Virginia Wolfs book Orlando. #RadBlooms (3:29pm)

@metadadaist: @BrightonMuseums with people like Nash, Lewis, Nevinson, Wadsworth etc around, do you think ‘Radical’ is an apt term for the BG? They didn’t (3:26pm)

@metadadaist: #RadBlooms with Nash, Lewis, Nevinson, Wadsworth etc around, do you think ‘Radical’ is an apt for the BG? The Vorticists thought not. (3:31pm)

@BrightonMuseums: There were different types of radicalism Bell & Grants strengths were their capacity for experimenting and trying new things in art and life (3:34pm)

@BrightonMuseums: Another #RadBlooms Q: Can you think of any contemporary artists who are influenced by Bell and Grant? (3:47pm)

@BrightonMuseums: Young realist artists in the 60s like David Hockney were influenced by Bell & Grant work from the 20s and 30s #RadBlooms (3:50pm)

@metadadaist: Do you have Grant’s ‘Ass’ in the exhibiton (1913) ? 🙂 #radblooms (3:58pm)

@BrightonMuseums: Yes we have the version belonging to the Tate in the exhibition #RadBlooms (4:01pm)

@metadadaist: @BrightonMuseums ah good that’s a great painting! Thanks Darren I’ll come and see the exhibition soon. (4:05pm)

@BrightonMuseum: That’s the end of our #RadBlooms Q&A. Thanks to Darren for taking part, and thanks to all those who asked questions. Hope you enjoyed it. (4:03pm)

@BrightonMuseums: If you haven’t seen Radical Bloomsbury yet — or want to see it again — it will be on until 9 Oct at Brighton Museum: http://ow.ly/6oRI7. (4:04pm)

We would like to thank Darren Clarke for kindly taking part in this session, and to all those who asked questions — especially @metadadaist. If you would like to keep up with similar events at the Royal Pavilion and Museums, follow us on Twitter: @BrightonMuseums.